Parental attachment and conflict behavior: Implications for offspring’s attachment, loneliness, and relationship satisfaction

This study assessed the implications of parental attachment security and parental conflict behavior for offspring’s relational adjustment (attachment security, loneliness, and relationship satisfaction). Further, reports of parental conflict behavior were obtained from both parents and offspring, addressing questions regarding agreement between reporters and the origin and extent of discrepant perceptions. Results revealed consistent patterns of conflict behavior and moderate agreement between reporters. However, offspring reported parental conflict behavior more negatively than parents, especially when offspring or parents were anxious about relationships. Parental attachment security had direct associations with offspring’s relationship anxiety, whereas associations between parental attachment and offspring’s loneliness and discomfort with closeness were mediated by parental conflict behavior. Parental conflict behavior was also associated with offspring’s relationship satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanisms involved in the intergenerational transmission of relationship difficulties. In his formulation of attachment theory, Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1980) described the bonds of affection that develop between children and their caregivers (usually the parents). He argued that these attachment bonds reflect humans’ universal needs for comfort and a sense of security, and that they play a key role in promoting children’s social and emotional development. Consistent with Bowlby’s claims about the importance of secure attachment bonds and their origins in responsive parenting, a vast body of literature now attests to the correlates and consequences of parent-child attachment security. Within this body of literature, considerable attention has been paid to the concept of ‘‘intergenerational transmission’’ of attachment difficulties. According to the intergenerational transmission hypothesis, the offspring of parents who are not available and responsive to their needs are likely to experience later difficulties in developing stable couple relationships and in serving as a secure base for their own children (Bretherton & Munholland, 1999). In this way, insecurity may be perpetuated across the generations. A meta-analysis of mother-child attachment patterns (van IJzendoorn, 1995) supports this claim. Specifically, studies show substantial concordance between the attachment patterns of mothers (interviewed about the nature and current influence of their own childhood relationships) and young children (observed in the Strange Situation). However, the mechanisms of transmission are not yet fully understood (George & Solomon, 1999). In examining the processes involved in parent-child attachment relationships, communication behavior is thought to be of prime importance. Attachment theory proposes that working models of attachment form as the result of communications between caregiver and child. Thus, communication serves as the vehicle by which attachment bonds are developed, maintained, and negotiated from day to Correspondence should be addressed to JudithA. Feeney, University of Queensland, School of Psychology, Queensland 4072, Australia, e-mail: [email protected]. Personal Relationships, 13 (2006), 19–36. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright 2006 IARR. 1350-4126=06